The KEY to operating most tools is to understand how and when -, +, [, ] affect the active tool tip on the one hand, and when a secondary hotkey selects a class of asset on the other. The Primary hotkeys F1, F2, ... , F7 select the active tool tab, which when pressed will toggle the tab and tool panels open or closed, as do mouseclicks as indicated.

A selected tool in the tool panel is often still active, so a key sequence selecting the 4th TAB-Tracks and Trackside such as F4, then T+M+F4 will activate the 'Trackside Tools TAB' ([F4]), the 'T' for Trackssub-tool menu and then the 'M' for Move Vertex tool, which will allow you to drag track vertex elements around. The last F4 closes the tool panel and lets the user have more screen while adjusting Tracks. The 4th TAB-Tracks and Trackside mouse button can instead be used to toggle the active tool menu open and closed.

In reality, a practiced route builder will likely be toggling back and forth between several tool panels and their respective active tool sub-menus and active tools while doing fine detailing of a section of map, say where a road (spline objectF3+S) runs beside a small stream (another spline asset) both of which parallel the tracks for a time, then the stream crosses under the tracks and perhaps so does the road— all running mostly together. That main scenery runs along side farmer's fields (fences being another spline, and crops often another; while farm equipment, vehicles, and animals are Objects, a different sub-menu); and down the street a few thousand meters—a row of rural housing (Objects, using F3+O) which need individual placement (LMB and a likely adjustment of Height, Rotation, and a Move or two of it's position, for each and every one, (not to mention their yard elements such as trees, swings, sidewalks, driveways, hedges and so forth). Creation of even a small detailed area becomes a marathon of intense concentration and takes a practiced eye and fore-planning.

A common enough circumstance, but integrating the Trainz assets with their respective heights, shaping the landscaping as you go means the route builder will be using a veritable flurry of hotkeys and mouse operations, perhaps switching tools as often as once every three-to-five seconds! TS12 is notorious for being responsible for slowing down that process, as the game can't keep up with the mind and hands of a practiced artist at their trade. Instead, with TS12, one often has to wait while the tool switch gets each tool to be reloaded into what seems to be the same patch of memory—a sloppy programmer assumption and bad effect for the Trainz Power user.

A full table of Surveyor Hotkeys using the Trainz command line tag titles as they occur in the ..\Settings folder of the Trainz installation is located in the appendix here.

F6 World Tools TAB and menus Trainz 1.3–TS2009, Since then, 6th TAB down or 2nd from Bottom now selects 'LAYERS Tool Menu and Tab' from TS10 and up. The rarely neededWorld Tools (of the Hotkeys below) have been moved into the Surveyor options menu.